Spurious Infection with Dicrocoelium Hospes in Ghana

Abstract

Summary The occurrence of spurious infection with eggs of the small liver fluke, Dicrocoelium hospes, is described in two jaundiced patients and three other patients. It was found that the patients had been eating infected liver beef in their hospital diet and intermittently passing eggs. D. hospes has been found to be a common parasite of cattle in Ghana and it is suggested that true infections in man may also occur. Little information regarding D. hospes is available and the life cycle has not been worked out as yet, but is probably similar to the closely related D. dendriticum.